Moon has perhaps been slightly overrated,but it's still a piece of intelligent sci fi and a great achievement on a tiny budget. If nothing else,it shows how much better model effects and the like are better then computer effects,because THEY ARE ACTUALLY there,and in this film they were pretty convincing too. Moon moves at a leisurely pace ,but due to an abundance of well-thought through details,an incredible turn by Sam Rockwell playing two versions of himself,and a plot which at the end of the day is not really that original [cloning,loss of identity,big corporation conspiracy,etc] but makes it's twists and turns seem fresh,it never bores,and is at times very moving too. A big plus is Clint Mansell's hypnotic,mimimalist score,helping to create a hypnotic feel to some scenes [especially the ones set actually on the moon's surface]. Recommended viewing then if not quite as earth shatteringly clever and original as you may have heard.

[At least it would be,that is if you can actually get to see it. I had to travel from Basingstoke to see it in London,so I threw in Antichrist too! The multiplexes should be encouraging good,independent [and especially British] cinema by showing films like Moon,not just filling every screen they can with Harry Potter and Transformers 2].

for anyone who hasnt seen this DO NOT READ THE SIGHT AND SOUND review. not only do they post a synopsis first that details the entire plot (seriously why do they do this?) but the review then goes on to give away many of the plot developments. fucking sight and sound. i've already seen the film and it still pisses me off.

Sorry man, got to take you to task on this one. Sight and Sound is a film journal rather than a magazine. It is a piece of reference material which is why they include all the information about films within their reviews. They barely give much of an opinion one way or the other in most of their reviews, so reading them before seeing something would be a little pointless anyway.

As for Moon (there will be spoilers here), yep it was very good. I found it odd having the "twist" come in the middle of the film, but it needs to be there to create the rest of the film, which ends up being extremely moving. I really enjoyed the fact that they played with the genre stereotype of the backstabbing robot. Throughout you're pretty much expecting GERTY to turn on Sam and I think there were a couple of moments where Jones wanted you to think that too. I'm not sure it's quite as intellectual as Empire's reviews suggested. I mean, it's definitely more thought provoking than your avergae movie but the themes aren't particularly subtle or original. Still a brilliant little film though.

alright fair enough, i still dislike it though :) i suppose i dont like the though of films being seen as something too academic, ive done film studies and yeh its well worthy studying films but theyre more than that and Sight & Sounds approach always seems too formal and disengaged.

Just brilliant. There's not many actors who could pull off an entire film by themselves but Sam Rockwell managed it with ease. Though the story 'twist' was fairly obvious early on, the way it played out was beautiful - the ending both heartbreaking and triumpant. The main theme by Clint Mansell is also amazingly catchy...and I'll be off to get the soundtrack this weekend. :)

Posts: 2483
Joined: 11/11/2005 From: somewhere near barstow on the edge of the desert

Saw this in the cinema last night and I was very impressed. Completely engrossed from start to finish especially with Sam Rockwell and Duncan Jones, who just might have a very promising career ahead of him. In a summer dominated by brainless $200m CGI orgies it’s easy to think that this is the type of film they don’t make anymore and the fact that it was only made with a £5m budget makes it all the more impressive. This is what Sci-Fi is all about and I urge anyone interested to watch it in the cinema to support this type film and let it continue to be made.

I quite liked this but I'm struggling to see just what all the fuss is about.

I think people just like the idea of an intellgent, well made Science Fiction film. Sure, it has been done before, but the performances that Rockwell gives, combinded with some excellent model work, really made it stand out. It has been a long time since that style of science fiction has been on the big screen.

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It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.

I quite liked this but I'm struggling to see just what all the fuss is about.

I think people just like the idea of an intellgent, well made Science Fiction film. Sure, it has been done before, but the performances that Rockwell gives, combinded with some excellent model work, really made it stand out. It has been a long time since that style of science fiction has been on the big screen.

I agree but all of this aside, I just didn't think the story was that great. I did enjoy it though.

Posts: 2483
Joined: 11/11/2005 From: somewhere near barstow on the edge of the desert

quote:

ORIGINAL: Wilbert

quote:

ORIGINAL: Rgirvan44

quote:

ORIGINAL: Wilbert

I quite liked this but I'm struggling to see just what all the fuss is about.

I think people just like the idea of an intellgent, well made Science Fiction film. Sure, it has been done before, but the performances that Rockwell gives, combinded with some excellent model work, really made it stand out. It has been a long time since that style of science fiction has been on the big screen.

I agree but all of this aside, I just didn't think the story was that great. I did enjoy it though.

To be fair, yes, it wasn't the most original film in terms of story but it was supposed to be almost a love letter to all those sci-fi movies of the '70s and '80s. That aside, it it was brilliantly executed and beautifully crafted and the fact that it only cost 5 million is astonishing and the film deserves to be supported.

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"Well that's just, like, you're opinion, man"

"Psychos do not explode when sunlight hits them, I don't give a fuck how crazy they are!"

I quite liked this but I'm struggling to see just what all the fuss is about.

I think people just like the idea of an intellgent, well made Science Fiction film. Sure, it has been done before, but the performances that Rockwell gives, combinded with some excellent model work, really made it stand out. It has been a long time since that style of science fiction has been on the big screen.

I agree but all of this aside, I just didn't think the story was that great. I did enjoy it though.

To be fair, yes, it wasn't the most original film in terms of story but it was supposed to be almost a love letter to all those sci-fi movies of the '70s and '80s. That aside, it it was brilliantly executed and beautifully crafted and the fact that it only cost 5 million is astonishing and the film deserves to be supported.

Not to mention the soundtrack!

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It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.

One thing nobody appears to have mentioned is in the early video message scene with his wife, there was a reflection in the room to the right (in my imagination it was the real Bell drying his hair after getting out of the shower but it could just as easily been a rogue boom operator!)

Assuming this reflection was intentional, & therefore Bell & his wife/daughter are aware they are recording a message for clones, then why such emotion? There was a noticable edit in this clip (which Bell picks up on) which I assumed to be Bell coming out of the room/talking & giving the game away. Again, I could just be talking cobblers.

Maybe they were clips recorded from when Bell was originally up there, in which case she was having an affair? Or, maybe it was just my phantom crew member?

I really enjoyed this movie, it's one of those that the more you think about it the more you enjoy it. GReat idea, great performance.

However something occurred to me, is it possible that it wasn't clones just a guy in total isolation going out of his mind? A few reasons for this, he made comments early on, '3 years is a long time' 'I am talking to myself' etc... Plus what was the point of the hallucinations of the girl/woman in the chair and in the dust

I really enjoyed this movie, it's one of those that the more you think about it the more you enjoy it. GReat idea, great performance.

However something occurred to me, is it possible that it wasn't clones just a guy in total isolation going out of his mind? A few reasons for this, he made comments early on, '3 years is a long time' 'I am talking to myself' etc... Plus what was the point of the hallucinations of the girl/woman in the chair and in the dust

Spoilers!!!

i think the hallucinations were more to do with the programmed life-span and the fact that his mind and body is decaying, but i wonder if there is more to them...

i think the hallucinations were more to do with the programmed life-span and the fact that his mind and body is decaying, but i wonder if there is more to them...

...but was it really a programmed life span? My take was that the hair/teeth falling out etc was due to radiation on the dark side of the moon as opposed to the vessel itself falling apart due to an inbuilt lifespan.

i think the hallucinations were more to do with the programmed life-span and the fact that his mind and body is decaying, but i wonder if there is more to them...

...but was it really a programmed life span? My take was that the hair/teeth falling out etc was due to radiation on the dark side of the moon as opposed to the vessel itself falling apart due to an inbuilt lifespan.

i think the hallucinations were more to do with the programmed life-span and the fact that his mind and body is decaying, but i wonder if there is more to them...

...but was it really a programmed life span? My take was that the hair/teeth falling out etc was due to radiation on the dark side of the moon as opposed to the vessel itself falling apart due to an inbuilt lifespan.

I saw it as a kill switch, similar to that of Blade Runner's replicants. It is Duncan Jones' fave sci-fi movie, so I think it was a nod in that direction. As for the hallucinations, I'd need to see the film again. I didn't think they were of Sam's daughter, but at the time they first appeared thought they had something to do with his and his wife's suggested seperation - the image of a women Sam had an affair with for example. I think that's probably bollocks, but it's what came to mind at the time!

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Evil Mod 2 - Hail he who has fallen from the sky to deliver us from the terror of the Deadites!

This is a masterpiece!! What a superb film. It reinstates all my hope and belief that was previously drained by big budget rubbish with expensive eye candy actors that low budget sci-fi was, well...sci-fi! Duncan Jones has created a rivetting, heartfelt, gripping, exciting, thought provoking film that looks great and is excellently paced. Sam Rockwell's performance(s) are stunning and i left the cinema with feelings that i haven't felt in a long time - satisfaction and real sympathy for the character. The best film this year. Jones and Rockwell i salute you!

I've finally seen this at the cinema. It never played here on it's initial release and I was gutted, but it was shown as part of the Directors Chair at my local Odeon (I've been checking DC for it since it was released!).

From the start this film had me sucked in. Great sets, great effects (models - yay!), brilliant direction, Sam Rockwell in the performance of the year IMO, and a wonderful, Sigur Ros-esque sound track.

It was wonderfully paced, with a great story, and while it does hark back to the likes of Silent Running and Alien etc, it's a refreshing change to see a sci-fi movie like this these days.

Even though it's out on DVD next month, I'm more than pleased I caught it on the big screen. I will definitely be picking up the sound track and can't wait til it's out on DVD.

Surprisingly, the screen was almost full. The last time I attended Directors Chair was Grindhouse, which had about 4 people there.

Brilliantly put together and visually impressive for the budget (and better looking than many films with many times the cash

Cool build up to the 'twist', which wasn't a twist, but a revelation the story needed in order to go where it then heads (twists come at the end and turn everything you have been watching on its head).

Great ending that allowed you to feel 'GOTCHA YOU BASTARDS!!' when they were coming to kill him off...then feel sad for the character(s), yet the coda allowed for those responsible to be taken to task.

The originality of the film is in the skill with which it made you exepct the cliches to play out as usual, create doubt as to the final outcome and make it happy, sad, reflective, triumphant and (thanks to the soundtrack) almost effortlessly cool.

Rockwell is a total fucking star and hopefully will get more roles where he is allowed to simply act. No amount of budget can ever produce by itself the pure engagement of seeing an actor at the top of his game. I've liked Rockwell beofre, but had no idea how much range he has.

what can i say that hasnt already been mentioned, not a lot, but it really is a cut above the usual crap offered by the mainstream, for example Surrogates which i thought was pretty lame at best, but had a huge budget behind it,

Like a special extra long 'Twilight Zone'/ or 'Outer Limits' episode this has an interesting story cleverly incorporating one main character. The twists come thick and fast, but the film does not leave you in the dark for long. The one disapointment about this film is that you are expecting a last shock twist at the climax- it never comes though. The sets look like they've been recycled from the set of 'Alien' or 'Star Wars', and Gerty played dryly by Kevin Spacey offers the film sparks of humour. Unlike his inspiration, Hal out of '2001: A Space Oddysey', Gerty is a robot with good intensions. However, he adds to the films building tension as in sci fi films, humans have to be suspicious of robots and androids in times of trouble. A pulsating soundtrack also, makes this a good directorial debut.

A great piece of old-fashioned sci-fi, from the design to the model-work, and all the better for it. Rockwell anchors the whole thing with aplomb and the central premise is executed well, with only a few slightly unanswered questions lingering.

*spoilers* not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, and haven't rewatched it to see if this theory holds up, but is another interpretation of the film that everything taking place after the moon buggy crash is all in the mind of the dying Sam? ie he never gets out of the crash and he imagines the whole rescue and subsequent clone scenario as he pines for his homelife on Earth?

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I've only gone and set up a blog! This week I've been mostly reviewing The Lego Movie and Wadjda. Click: The Fast Picture Show

i think the hallucinations were more to do with the programmed life-span and the fact that his mind and body is decaying, but i wonder if there is more to them...

...but was it really a programmed life span? My take was that the hair/teeth falling out etc was due to radiation on the dark side of the moon as opposed to the vessel itself falling apart due to an inbuilt lifespan.

well the radiation would explain the hallucinations possibly?

Nah, he watches loads of videos of old Sam Rockwells being ill etc. before letting themselves get incinerated - I realise I've had the added benefit of seeing this on DVD a couple of times to be able to remember this!

With respect to the actual movie, it was really good but yeah - I also thought of Arnie and The 6th Day! I also liked how GERTY had Rockwell's back.

This film just shows how, in most cases (i.e. not moon), they don't make sci-fi like they used to!